


Colourful Beginnings

by ASelkieByAnyOtherName



Series: Vista Creek [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Caning, Consensual Kink, Consensual Sex, Dom/sub, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Lesbian Sex, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Original Universe, Other, Over the Knee, Paddling, Power Dynamics, Punishment, Spanking, Submission
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:14:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24842116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASelkieByAnyOtherName/pseuds/ASelkieByAnyOtherName
Summary: When you get your colour, you go to college, that's how it has always been and will always be. Blue, Purple, Red - this is a world run by colour. Blues are submissive, Reds are dominant and Purples? Purples are a bit of both - Switches, in other words. When Allison turns 17 she gets her colour and is enrolled at Vista Creek Academy for four years of adventure. But as a Blue, she needs to toe the line or face the consequences. It's at Vista she meets the enigmatic Cora, a no-nonsense Red who seems born into the role. Welcome to Vista Creek.
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: Vista Creek [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797001
Comments: 27
Kudos: 75





	1. Welcome to Vista Creek Academy

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first ever story on here and it really depends on if it's well-received, if I continue or not. There won't be anything too crazy in this chapter and I will be posting warnings for any content that could trigger. In this world, getting your colour means reaching adulthood, so all characters are legal adults. I will not be writing any kink with minor characters.

_Rule 1: All students are required to wear their uniform on campus grounds at all times. Failure to do so will result in the appropriate sanction; impersonating another colour is expressly forbidden._

Allison looked down at the four neatly folded piles of clothes on her bed. Her new uniform for Vista Creek had been freshly washed and ironed by her mother and laid out for packing. She ran her fingers absentmindedly over the cool fabric and contemplated the piles; summer uniform (a powder-blue sundress with an embroidered crest, grey-knit cardigan and sensible ballerina flats), winter uniform (a pleated blue and grey skirt that stopped just above her knees, a light white shirt with the embroidered Vista Creek crest, a thick cable-knit blue jumper and brown lace-up boots), a sports uniform (blue skorts, shiny new trainers and a sensible cottonblend white t-shirt). 

There were unisex options on offer as well, but in all honesty, Allison had never liked wearing trousers. The fourth pile included the vast range of colour-coded accessories that were not mandatory, but available on the college's website. Her parents in their excitement had gone a little overboard and bought her the swimsuit, hair clips, alice band, raincoat, even a folded pair of branded socks and powder blue pyjamas. The latter choices were optional and she was sure that when she got to the school, everyone would be sporting their own pyjamas and she'd look a fool. 

"Sweetie, are you done packing?" Her mother's voice carried through the house and she nodded to herself. "We're off in thirty minutes. Hurry up." 

"Okay, mum. I'll be down in a sec!" 

Ignoring her mounting anxiety, she stuffed the clothes into a suitcase, rendering her mother's careful folding technique pointless, and lifted the bag from her bed. Blues weren't permitted to wear a lot of makeup, so she said her goodbyes to her range of lipsticks. She settled for a sheer lipgloss (allowed), her mascara brush and some pink blush (also allowed). Finger and toenails were to be cut short (no gel tips allowed) and left either nude or painted a pale pink shade. It felt like being back at school. She was an adult now and all these rules felt arbitrary, downright medieval. But she knew there was no point arguing, not with her parents who thought only the very best of Vista Creek. 

* * *

"Oh, sweetie, you'll see; it'll be fine!" Her mother said softly, pressing a kiss to her cheek when they pulled into the long gravelly driveway of her new home for the next four years. She'd be allowed home for holidays only. And once she was claimed, it would be up to her Red or Purple to choose. She blew out a frustrated breath. No way would she ever permit a Red/Purple to boss her around like that. No way. 

"Allison, honey, these years will just fly by," her father added, glancing backwards at his wife and daughter. She made a face in response, like she didn't believe a word he was saying and he chuckled. "I'm serious. Your mother and I met at Vista - four wonderful years. Though I recall your mother spent the majority of it over my knee," he added, causing her mother to laugh and swat at his arm. Allison rolled her eyes. "Gross. You guys are the worst." 

* * * 

It was hard not to burst into tears, but somehow she managed, watching the car disappear beyond the wrought iron gate, her mother's kiss still lingering on her cheek. 

"Are you Allie?" 

Allison blinked and looked down at the petite girl with bright pink hair. "Uhmmm-" she looked around, but the girl was definitely looking at her, bobbing excitedly up and down on her feet. "I - yeah - it's Allison." 

"I'll call you Allie," the pink-haired girl said. At the genuine smile on her face, she couldn't really deny her that and just nodded, still feeling a little bit dumbfounded. 

"I'm Kitty," the girl said. She was also wearing the same powder-blue sundress, though she matched those with a pair of celestial tights that could not be regulation uniform and sparkly hair clips that shone in her bubblegum pink hair. She was small, smaller than Allison, and she wasn't the tallest girl in the world either. "I'm your new roommate. There's also Jamie. You'll meet in a bit. Headmistress assigned me to help you on your first day. I've been here for like... almost two years. I was sixteen - it was oh-so exciting when I came and like-" she cut off upon seeing the surprised look on Allison's face. 

"I know! Sixteen! It's unusual, though not unheard of, I guess. I was super early getting my colour. Woke up one morning and ta-da - there it was!" She pointed at the little blue X on the inside of her wrist, as though Allison didn't have an identical one on hers. "All my siblings are Purples so it was a bit of a shock. Mum's a blue, Ma's a Red, so Mum was super pleased." 

Allison could barely keep up with the speed at which Kitty was revealing her life story. She simply nodded dumbly. 

"Kitten, please, you're overwhelming the newbie." A tall woman rested a hand on her roommate's shoulder. She was tall, impossibly tall, with dark hair pulled into a severe bun and strict features that felt forced into a smile, directed at Allison. She was bad at guessing ages but thought that the woman was perhaps in her mid-fifties. Kitty fell quiet, but kept bobbing excitedly on the spot. 

"Allison Rosewood, correct?" 

"Uh - yes." 

The woman raised a single eyebrow. "We prefer 'yes, Miss' at this academy." 

"Oh... um... yes... Miss?" Allison squeaked, feeling her face flare up with embarrassment. The tall woman smiled. 

"Good girl. You'll learn the rules soon enough. Isn't that right, Kitty?" The pink-haired girl nodded and grinned up at the woman. 

"Right. I am Headmistress Adler, a Red, obviously. You're our only new girl this week, so I'm sure you'll be the cause for some excitement. I expect that you own a copy of the Rule Book already? And you have, no doubt, memorised it in its entirety?" 

"Uh..." Allison wasn't sure if the woman was joking. By the severe expression on her face she somehow doubted it. "Of course, Miss," she hastened to add. 

"Good girl. Welcome to Vista Creek. Don't overwhelm the new girl, Kitten," she added, smiling genuinely at Kitty. Allison made a mental note to ask about all of THAT later. 

* * *

 _Rule 22: Blues are to address their superiors with respect in accordance to their station. All teaching staff, Reds, and Purples are to be addressed with "Sir" or "Miss". No exceptions. Blues will be called by their first name or terms of endearment only._

Allison hastened to keep up with her bubbly new roommate. She was practically yanking her through various corridors and along the cobbled pathways between the heavy stone buildings. They walked through a grassy courtyard lined with rose bushes, Kitty making sure not to step in the flowerbeds. Several signs warned of consequences if the flowerbeds were disturbed. Allison wasn't sure how serious they were, but she really didn't want to push her luck on her first day at the school. 

"Everyone has to stay at Vista for at least the four years. After one year, you get to pick a specialism. Something you want to do for a career. Our options are a bit more limited, as Blues, obviously," Kitty added with a smile that was almost apologetic. "Purples and Reds get all the choices, it's a little unfair. But personally, I don't think I want a career anyway. And that's the only thing that's open to us Blues only. Sitting back, relaxing, cooking a few meals. You know," she added with a giggle. Allison did not know. Both her parents worked, even though her mum was a Blue and her father a Red. The idea of not doing anything and only serving her partner felt... well, awful. 

"But your first year will be easy. You'll have the usual classes. Maths, history, English, Biology, some Chemistry - I know!" Kitty said, seeing Allison's disgusted expression. "We got P.E. as well. I'm awful at it. I always forget my uniform. I got spanked in front of the whole class last Tuesday. Deffo not recommended."

Kitty turned again and they walked down an echoey corridor and past a gaggle of uniformed students. Allison looked over and thought she recognised a couple of Red colours and Purples. One in particular stood out. She had long black hair in a single braid and was wearing grey trousers with a light shirt. She could see the embroidered red crest on the shirt, the sleek red band tied at the bottom of her long braid. The tall girl elbowed a Purple standing right next to her and then leaned over to whisper something in her ear. Allison blushed and looked away. She wasn't sure what drew her to the girls, or why she suddenly felt hot all over. 

"That's Cora," Kitty said, a knowing note to her voice. "She's a Big Red. Come along." They turned a final corner towards a long stone-bricked building up ahead. Green stalks snaked their way up the sides of the brick, casting the entire building in ivy and green. It was rather enchanting and even Allison had to admit that it was pretty-looking. 

"Home sweet home," Kitty chanted, pulling her harder still towards the entrance. They brushed past a common room lined with plush armchairs and potted plants. Some students, a mix of Blues and Purples, were kneeling sitting cross-legged on the ground, playing some board game. She spotted a girl in the corner, her hands on her head, quite obviously in the middle of some punishment. "Is that-" 

Kitty laughed. "Oh, that's Em. She's been there for hours. She just keeps being a brat, so back to the corner it is. You know?" She raised a questioning eyebrow and Allison shrugged. There'd never been much punishment in her home. Her parents were very private and kept things behind closed doors and though she'd seen classmates punished by parents, she'd never seen people her own age engaged in such public displays. 

"So. Just so you know. Left staircase are the Purples. They have their own rooms, but share bathrooms with like another Purple. I don't really know. We're not allowed in their rooms without express permission. Or for punishments, that kind of stuff." Kitty paused, allowing Allison to take in the new information, then she pointed towards the right staircase. It had red carpeting, so Allison really thought that it was painfully obvious who the inhabitants of that particular staircase were, but Kitty couldn't be stopped. 

"Right staircase is for the Reds. They have super cool pads. Each Red had like a studio apartment. Their own kitchen and stuff, so they don't have to share with us lot. Bit unfair if you ask me, but you know, Reds and stuff... aaand we're down here." Right across from them was another long corridor, lined in blue carpeting, with doors to each side. "Blue corridor," Kitty explained unnecessarily. "This ours. Room 12." Kitty pulled open a door and sauntered into the room in question. 

It was a large room, larger than she had anticipated. It had panelled wood walls with soft blue furnishings, and Kitty and her roommate had obviously sought to brighten up the place with personal knickknacks, plush toys and posters on the walls. There were three twin beds, three desks, three bedside tables and three large wardrobes. There were also two sofas and an armchair on the far side of the room, with a wooden bookshelf piled high with dog-eared paperbacks. 

"You must be Allie," a low male voice said. She turned and was quite surprised to find that Jamie, was in fact, a boy. Seemed the academy had no problem with the sexes mixing. The boy was taller than her, but only by a bit, with scruffy brown hair and deep green eyes. He was wearing grey trousers and the same shirt she'd seen on Cora earlier. Only this time the crest was in blue. 

"Oh, don't fret. I'm gay. Not even the least bit interested. I don't go for Blues anyway." He laughed and winked, easing some more of Allison's anxiety. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe she'd even like it, like her parents had said. 

"Huh. As if you go for anyone at all. He only has eyes for Sawyer. The only Red that counts, hm, J?" Kitty plonked herself down on her bed, grinning at her roommate. Allison watched a sole pillow fly from Jamie's bed and hit Kitty square in the face. She brushed the pillow away and stuck out her tongue. 

"Oh, shush. It's only the truth. Allie over here might as well find out the sordid details now, while it's still hot." 

Allison set her suitcase down on her bed and sat next to it. She drew her legs up on the bed and raised a questioning eyebrow. Even though she wasn't typically one to nose about, she was slightly intrigued by the promise in Kitty's voice.

"Jamie was claimed last week." The words burst out of Kitty, causing Jamie to hide his face in his own bedsheets. Allison's mouth fell open in surprise and she looked from one roommate to the other. 

"No way." 

Claiming was serious business. Her father had claimed her mother after their first two years of dating. Breaking a claim was virtually unheard of. Once claimed, you were essentially bonded forever. People generally took their time. And Jamie was young. 

"I know," Kitty said in that sing-song voice. "I refuse to be claimed for another two years yet. In my last year, maybe. Until then, I'm a free Blue." 

* * * 

Allison knew the rules of their world. People went to the colleges after their Colour Day. Which college generally didn't matter, as they were all virtually identical. College was a time of learning and fun, partying and new experiences. Where before children and teens might have dated a bit, maybe even kissed, at college you were expected to learn about the other colours and yourself. Reds had power over Purples and Blues, Purples had power over some other Purples and all Blues. Blues had no real power. As a Blue, you were expected to submit, to serve, to behave. Or risk being punished. 

The one time where a Blue had all the power, was when it came to Claiming. When a Purple or Red - or even another Blue, though that was almost unheard of - was interested in a Blue and had been courting for a while, they would formally claim them. After that it rested in the hands of the Blue to either accept or refuse. A refusal happened fairly often. The Reds and Purples were expected to take rejection with dignity and respect the choice of the Blue in the matter. If a Blue accepted, they would be a Couple, officially. From then on no one could lay hands on that Blue. 

* * * 

_Rule 102: Claimed colours are not to be touched._

Allison looked over at Jamie, who was still hiding his face, clearly mortified. 

"So... when you - you know - act up in class or something - can the teachers...?" She let the question hang in the air for a bit. Jamie looked up slowly, his face red, a small smile twitching at his lips. 

"Nah, not even the teachers. I can be written up. That gets reported to Sawyer. And he - you know." He shrugged. Allison nodded.

"You're so lucky," Kitty said, giggling. "I get punished all the time. By everyone." 

"Well, you also act up, all the time, in front of everyone," Jamie said. 

"Touché," Kitty acknowledged. 

Allison grinned, enjoying the casual banter between the two roommates who were clearly close. 

"Besides," Jamie said, looking over at Allison now. "I wouldn't call myself lucky. Sawyer doesn't exactly hold back either. Plus, I got to wait all day for him to call me to his room. He's in his final year, gonna be a doctor soon," Jamie added. "Once I graduate, we want to move in together, get a flat downtown." 

Kitty giggled again and looked curiously over at Allison.

"What about you, Allie? Are you hoping to settle? Or be a free spirit, like me?" 

Feeling the eyes of both her roommates on her now, Allison blushed and picked at her suitcase. She shrugged. "I hadn't thought about it, really. By the end of the four years, I'd quite like to, you know, have someone. But..." She thought back to the raven-haired girl from earlier. Cora. And blushed a deeper shade of red. 

Goddamn. "But yeah, free spirit for now." Kitty crowed out a hooray and bounced happily on her own bed.


	2. A painful lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter includes corporal punishment. None of the characters are minors in this AU.

_Rule 14: In their first year, students at Vista Creek will take the mandatory subjects of English Literature, Mathematics, Science, History, Art and Physical Education. Students may then select four additional subjects from their Colour-Specific options._

"You'll have to decide on four from the list by the end of the week. Not from the Red column, obviously. But this is your first week, so you can just accompany us to all our classes and then make your choice. Friday's the cut-off date, right, J?" Kitty looked over at Jamie, who was looking bleary eyed and kept on yawning. 

They'd stayed up way beyond bedtime, chatting far into the night. Mainly about whimsical things like dreams and future plans, but also about naughty things. At one point, Kitty had sprung from her bed and (in spite of Jamie's half-hearted protests) yanked down her pyjama pants to show off her butt. She'd been caned two days prior and the stripes from the whippy instrument were still showing clearly on her pale skin. Six neat lines, one over the other. 

"Gosh, that looks sore. I've never been caned," Allison admitted, chewing at her lower lip. "Actually, I've only ever been spanked with a hand. My parents weren't really that strict, I suppose." 

Now though, she was looking down in actual surprise at the list of modules she could choose from. As if to highlight just how unfair the whole system was, her sheet of paper also included the options that were afforded to the Reds. Purple students were able to pick freely between both Blue and Red choices. Kitty braided her hair into two French braids, which made her look even more adorable. No wonder she got so much attention. Based on all of the stories they'd relayed the night before, Kitty was quite a popular Blue on campus. 

_Blue course options:_

_-Cookery and Baking  
-Gardening  
-General housekeeping and Cleaning  
-Floristry  
-Music (choice of: Violin, Piano, Flute)  
-Design and Textiles  
-Needlework and embroidery  
-Childcare and early childhood teaching  
-Animal husbandry  
-Nursing and healthcare  
-Ceramics and Pottery  
-Contemporary dance and Ballet _

_Red course options:_

_-Engineering  
-Martial arts  
-Accounting  
-Graphic Design  
-Medicine  
-Programming and Computer Science  
-Advanced Teaching  
-Architecture and Construction  
-Writing and bookbinding  
-Actuarial Science  
-Politics and Lawmaking  
-Forensics_

"Oh, this is fucking bullshit," Allison said, glaring down at the sheet of "options" available to her. Both Jamie and Kitty stopped in the middle of getting dressed and glanced over at her. "Ooh, careful with the swearing. We're not supposed to and if one of the Reds catches you... Got my mouth washed out with soap once. Horrible." Kitty visibly shuddered at the memory. 

"Yeah, they've all got sticks up their butts about that kinda thing, so swearing really ticks them off. Sawyer hates it. Reds are technically allowed to swear, but most don't. Pride and honour and all that." 

Allison nodded and ran a brush through her red hair. She was glad, at least, that they weren't expected to wear pink. Her hair would clash horribly with it. At least the blue accented it rather nicely. 

"I'm sorry. I just... I can't believe you're just okay with this? The Red options all sound valid. Like, I mean, actual careers. 'Engineering? Politics? Forensics?' All careers. The Blue options are so... cutesy. What is this? 'Cookery? Needlework? Pottery?' What are we, decoration?" She huffed and threw the offending sheet of paper on her bed. "What happens if I don't pick any?" 

Kitty looked surprised and glanced over at Jamie. 

"I don't... I don't actually know? I feel like Miss Adler wouldn't be impressed. I wouldn't..." Kitty squeaked, looking rather anxious at the thought. 

"Why'd you want a career anyway? Our Purples and Reds are meant to do all that," Jamie said with a shrug. He pulled his cardigan from the desk chair, knocking some pencils to the floor as he did so. "They have to take those boring options so that they can work and support us. We make sure to keep a nice house, mend clothes, all that."

"Besides," Kitty said, jumping in when she noticed that Allison was looking rather agitated. "If you really, really want a career, there are options open to us Blues too. We can go into teaching, nursing, animal care, that sort of thing. You can even make clothes. There's that really famous Blue fashion designer. What's her name again?" 

"SaBelle, I think," Jamie said. "She's super famous. You can be an artist as well, Allie," he said, smiling gently at her. "Honestly, don't worry about all this. That's why we have our Reds and Purples. We don't need to worry. Anyway. We should hurry up and get to maths."

* * * 

_Rule 5: Bad attitude and swearing is unbecoming of a Blue or Purple and will be punished accordingly._

"Allison, am I boring you?" 

Despite not raising her voice, Professor Goodwin's question seemed to thunder through the silent classroom. The maths teacher was young, probably in her early thirties. Her hair was cut into a severe blonde bob. She didn't have to wear any uniform. Most adults didn't after they graduated college. But all teaching staff beyond primary school were Reds or Purples. That kind of job was not an option for Blues. She wasn't sure what Goodwin was, but everything about the woman screamed Dominant. 

Allison's throat ran dry and she was suddenly aware of every eye in the classroom turning to look between her and the older woman. Maths was a subject for all students, so the classroom was mixed by ability and not by colour. There was a higher level maths group. She knew that Jamie was in it - apparently he was a little maths geek. But her own maths abilities weren't that great and so standard maths would have to do. The room was a fairly even mix of Reds, Blues and Purples. 

"N-no, Miss." She was picking determinedly at her nails. Miss Goodwin looked annoyed, but not angry. That was good, at least. 

"Then could you come up here and solve this equation for us, please?" The teacher dropped the whiteboard marker on her desk and took a step back, as if to present the board to Allison. 

Fifteen pairs of eyes followed her as she walked slowly towards the board. She hadn't been paying attention. Her mind had been drifting, daydreaming. In fact, she distinctly recalled doodling in the margins of her paper. The equation on the board looked as foreign to her as a far-off language. 

She picked up the board pen and stared at the numbers, willing them to make sense. She chewed at her bottom lip, feeling tears pricking at her eyes. Finally, it seemed that Professor Goodwin took pity on her. She sighed and held out her hand and Allison gingerly handed back the marker pen. 

"I do not tolerate wandering minds in my classroom. You might have been allowed to do so at your previous school. But Vista Creek prides itself on student excellence and achievement. I'm sure you've read the rules?" 

Allison nodded.

"Excuse me?" 

"Um... yes, Miss?" She hoped that was the right thing to say. The teacher's severe expression softened somewhat and she smiled.

"Good girl. I know you're new here, sweetpea, but I can't let things slip. Not even once. I don't do warnings in my classroom." 

Allison felt her heart sink. First day and she was going to be punished. She really hoped it would just be lines, standing in the corner, anything but-

"Bend over the end of the desk here, Allison." 

Shit. Shit shit shit. 

She didn't think her face could get any redder. She was sure that it matched her hair by now. Though her legs felt like they'd turned to jelly, she walked around the desk. She couldn't look at the class and the assorted faces that would now be her audience. She was sure that people were smirking, looking forward to an early-morning show. Kitty was there, which gave her some relief, at least. She was sure that the bright-haired girl would be sympathetic, perhaps even sweet in the aftermath. She didn't know and couldn't put any names to the faces for most people in the classroom yet. But there was one she'd recognised immediately upon walking into the room. The tall, willowy girl, Cora. And now the only person she wanted to impress - for whatever reason - was going to watch her get spanked. 

Miss Goodwin cleared her throat and indicated that Allison should get it over with, so she bent down gingerly and placed her hands to the sides of her face. The teacher opened a drawer and pulled out something that Allison could not see, causing her heart to plummet further. She'd hoped it would just be the hand. 

"I generally prefer giving Blues bare bottom paddlings," Miss Goodwin said. "A bit of humiliation is good for a learning Blue. But... I'm reasonable, of course and I understand that you're new here," she added. 

Allison blushed further, glad that no one could see her face in her current position. The idea of everyone seeing her bare cheeks growing red under a paddle... the thought was too humiliating. 

Contrary to what she expected, Miss Goodwin did not raise her dress, instead tapping her twice on the arse with the paddle. Allison breathed in a shaky breath, tears already threatening to spill from her eyes. 

Then WHACK -- she felt nothing at first. Just the shock of how heavy the paddle felt on her bottom. Then suddenly, the intensity of the sting made her rock up on her toes. She was all of the sudden very, very glad for that extra layer of protection. "Oh!" she breathed out, the tears finally spilling from her eyes. 

WHACK. Thankfully, Goodwin did not seem to be a talker. She'd hated when her mother lectured during a spanking. It somehow felt even more humiliating whenever she did. There was barely a break between the last one and then WHACK. "Ow! Oh - oh! No, Miss. Please -" 

WHACK. She breathed in a startled breath, tears now running steadily down her face and attempted to stand up. Miss Goodwin, however, was experienced and had anticipated this move from the sub. Instead of holding her down, she waited patiently until Allison bent forwards again, the shame evident on her face. The second she did, the paddle smacked down once again with another loud WHACK and she rocked forwards once more. She cried out and then dissolved into noisy sobs. WHACK. The paddle was put down on the desk, but Allison didn't even notice it, her eyes too clouded from her tears.

"Good girl. You took that very well," Miss Goodwin said, her voice suddenly soft. Allison was surprised once more when she felt gentle hands helping her stand up. "Well done, little Blue," the older woman said gently. Was that... pride on the teacher's face? Allison felt more confused than ever and did nothing to hide her sobs. She was even more startled when the teacher drew her in to a hug. It didn't feel wrong or sexual in any way. Just surprisingly nice and comforting. 

"There now, all is forgiven. We'll start on a fresh, clean slate next time, hm? I think you've had enough for one morning." Miss Goodwin released her from the hug and looked at her tear-stained face. "I'm excusing you until lunchtime. Perhaps a lie down will do you well. Who is your roommate?" 

"K-Kitty," she said, her voice breaking on a new sob. Miss Goodwin nodded and gestured towards the pink-haired girl. 

"Katherine, could you accompany Allison to your room? You can take your supplies with you - you're both excused." 

Feeling more than a little shell-shocked, Allison walked towards the door, Kitty's arms soft around her shoulders. She hadn't even considered that Kitty's real name wasn't actually Kitty. 

Just before the door swung shut, she heard Goodwin's voice, bright and normal as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

"Right then, class. Where were we?" 

And she supposed, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. 

_Rule 3: A dominant Red/Purple must ALWAYS give comfort after a punishment has been meted out._


	3. Plans and Parties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, unfortunately no spanking in this chapter. But it's going to lead up to something BIG. Please do leave comments in the replies. I always read them and want to know if anyone even likes the story/characters. They're up to a bit of naughtiness in this chapter...

_Rule 17: Curfew is in place for Blues and Purples at Vista Creek. Students are allowed out of their rooms after curfew only with express permission or in the company of a Red student. Curfew hours are at 9 pm for Blue students and 11 pm for Purple students._

Somehow, miraculously (and she wasn't entirely sure how), Allison managed to get through three weeks without major incidents. She'd certainly not made the mistake of staring off into space in Miss Goodwin's class again. She'd been getting praise and gentle pats on the head from her teachers, who made it clear that she was adjusting wonderfully to life at Vista Creek. Although it was already mid-September, they were looking towards several blisteringly hot weekends, potentially the last for a while. 

On one such Friday afternoon, after their classes had ended for the day, the trio of Blues were lying in their favourite grassy spot on campus, right by the duck pond. Kitty kept throwing bits of her sandwich to them, delighting in their excited quacking. 

"You know," Allison said, turning onto her tummy in order to watch. "You shouldn't feed bread to the ducks. Apparently they should have seeds or something. Or maybe was it sweetcorn?" 

"Either way, Kitty," Jamie interrupted, laying back with his arms folded beneath his head. "Pretty sure you are meant to be eating your sandwich, not feeding the poultry." 

"Aww, but look how happy they are!" Kitty said, pouting prettily. Allison laughed and pressed a kiss to her friend's cheek. 

"Eat some of it at least. They're fat ducks anyway." 

"Hey! No fat shaming!" Jamie announced loudly, causing them all to collapse in a fit of giggles. 

"Three Blues in fits of giggles, hm, that's never a good sign." The words came from a deep voiced source. Allison blinked up at the tall man who had crossed the quad over to them. Sawyer had intimidated her at first, and he definitely still incurred a whole lot of respect, but she felt comfortable enough around him to tease the Red.

Sawyer was a force, seemingly made purely of muscle and an intensely no-nonsense attitude. He had long blonde hair that brushed his shoulders and an impossibly immaculate three-day beard. He wore a white coat over his college uniform, a coat that identified him as one of the few prestigious medical students. In the blazing afternoon heat, Sawyer shrugged off his coat, folding it together carefully before placing it by Jamie's head. Jamie crawled half into his partner's lap, resting his head on his broad thighs. Allison hadn't known Sawyer to be a man of many words. He mostly seemed to enjoy listening and offering his input whenever it was needed. 

Kitty put her barely touched sandwich back into a brown paper bag, sitting cross-legged and smiling at her friends. 

"You know... there's _the festival_ tomorrow. Everyone's talking about it." She bit her lip and looked over at Sawyer, who was shaking his head slowly. Allison had no idea what festival she was talking about, so she decided to take the bait. 

"What festival?" 

There was a low warning growl from Sawyer, which both Blues decided to ignore. 

"It's a music festival in town. Like down town. Happens every year in September. I've never been allowed to go." 

"Oohhh I love festivals! We should go," Allison said, brightening quickly at the idea of something exciting to do. Most of their weekends were spent lounging about, catching up on essays, or watching films. A festival would be divine and different. She imagined people from all over, converging on the city. They weren't even allowed to go out to the city on a normal night, as their curfew didn't permit it.

"We can only go if we're with a chaperone," Kitty said, picking over her words carefully. Allison had been wondering where the catch was, based on Sawyer's stormy look. 

"We didn't have one last year - obviously - but now we have Sawyer," she added, batting her eyelids in a way she was sure would make any Dominant who wasn't Sawyer go wild. 

"That's true!" Jamie bounced up, his face gleeful, turning begging eyes towards his partner. "Can we go? Please?" 

"No." 

"But - please?" 

"No, Jamie." 

"Sawyer! That's not fair!"

There was another low growl from Sawyer, who fixed his partner with a look. They all knew the look. Sawyer was a pillar of calm, never quick to anger, but he was firm and unyielding. 

"No! I won't just shut up cause you want me to- I-" Jamie had stood up, huffing in a way that only made him look more adorable, the frustration on his face evident. Kitty had gone all pink in the face. Clearly she still wanted to go, but she definitely hadn't meant to cause this much of a commotion with her comments.

"Little boy-" Sawyer's voice was calm and dangerously low now.

"Just because you don't know how to have any fun at all, doesn't mean that-" 

"I would be very careful with my next words, if I were you, my cub," Sawyer said, his voice laced with promise. Jamie fell silent, but didn't sit back down. He glared at Sawyer with furious green eyes. "I don't believe I was asking for your input in this matter. I said no. That festival is no place for an unaccompanied Blue and I am busy tomorrow."

"But-" 

"Stop. Talking. I don't want to hear any more about this festival. That goes for you too, Kitty," Sawyer said, turning to fix the pink-haired girl with a sharp look. She blanched and nodded meekly.

* * * 

After that, Jamie had settled back resolutely, curling into Sawyer, who stroked through his hair absentmindedly, the argument seemingly forgotten. Kitty pored over a worn-looking copy of a book, jabbing notes into the margins, and Allison sat with her back against the imposing oak tree, picking at daisies and trying to twist them into a crown. 

A sharp laugh had her look up from her half-finished crown. There she was. Cora. The girl was out, her shirt rolled up to her elbows, exposing her pale skin, her normally braided hair loose in a high ponytail. She was laughing with a smaller blonde girl, halfway across the grassy quad. Cora grabbed the wrist of the blonde girl and Allison felt her heart give a jolt. She stabbed a hole through one of the daisies, watching as Cora slipped a hand beneath the shorter girl's shirt. The blonde laughed and batted away her hand, which only caused Cora to push her determinedly backwards against a tree. She leaned down to nip at the blonde's neck, grabbing her possessively. 

From this angle, Allison finally spotted the colour the girl was wearing. She had on a thin headband in purple, her blonde hair falling in cascading waves down her shoulders. She was breathtaking, with sun kissed skin and beautiful curves. Thinking back, Allison remembered seeing them together on her very first day at Vista Creek. When Cora pressed against her, slipping her hand briefly up her skirt, Allison felt her face burn with... 

She wasn't sure what she was feeling. On one hand, she couldn't look away from the immodest display. Her skin felt unbearably hot and she felt something between her legs, a pulsing, longing, she hadn't felt before. But there was also a very different heat. This one was almost blistering. Jealousy. 

"Who is that?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly. She pressed her knees closely together, willing the throbbing feeling to stop. Kitty blinked and looked up from her book.

"Oh!" she squeaked. Her face pinkened slightly to match her bright hair. "Oh, my. That's... naughty." 

"Who. Is. She. The one with Cora?" Allison hissed, tearing apart another daisy. Jamie looked up carefully and Sawyer was looking at her with a curious expression. 

"That's Erin," Jamie said. "The Purple? That's Cora's girlfriend." 

It felt like all the air had left her body in one. Allison tore another small daisy in two and looked away from the giggling girls. They'd stopped making out and were whispering to each other, looking so close and tenderly at one another. Allison felt a tightening pain in her chest and swallowed. 

A girlfriend. Cora had a girlfriend. What. The. Fuck. 

"I'm going to go. I forgot about the homework we have to do for English." 

"Homework for English?" Kitty dropped the book in surprise. "I don't remember any homework for-"

But Allison was already packing up her bag, casting the destroyed daisy chain to the ground and willing herself not to burst into tears. At least not until she got back to her room. 

"Allie - wait, where are you going?" Kitty called, getting up to reach for her hand.

"Let her go, Kitten," Jamie said gently. Sawyer ran his fingers through his hair and murmured something to his boy, so quietly that no one else could hear. And Allison fled.

* * * 

When the others got to their room it was shortly before curfew and the sky had gone quite dark. Allison lay in her bed, her body aching. Though she'd done no physical exercise, she felt worn out, exhausted, spent. But she also felt newly determined. 

She waited for her roommate's to shimmy into their nightdresses and pyjamas and then turned onto her side to watch them. 

She grinned, surprising both Jamie and Kitty.

"What?" Jamie asked, nervously. 

"Do you still want to go to the festival?" 

"I really do," Kitty sighed, sitting down on the end of Allison's bed. She curled up on it and let out another frustrated sigh. "But, we can't go without someone to chaperone. And Sawyer said-"

"But... that's not really fair, is it?" Allison said, gnawing absentmindedly on her nail. "The Purples and Reds always get to do everything and have all the fun. Why can't we go? We wouldn't even drink any alcohol, or anything," she said. 

Kitty and Jamie nodded slowly. He sat down in his bed, pulling the covers over his shoulders like a cape.

"True," he said, a frown on his face. "Sawyer said it gets rowdy and dangerous though..." 

Kitty nodded, a worried look on her pretty face. "Yeah, 'sides, he said no like... many times." 

"Fine! If you lot want to be treated like little children, that's cool. I'm going to be an adult and go to this festival, for adults," Allison said crossly. 

"Allie, don't be cross! Please don't be cross," Kitty begged, crawling up to her and snuggling into her friend's body. "I'll come, I will."

"I'll come, too," Jamie said quickly. "Sawyer isn't my father and we're adults. But... there's might be a problem, Allie. People will be able to tell from miles off that we're Blues," he said, pointing towards the pile of their blue college uniforms. 

"Oh, damn. I hadn't thought about that," Allison admitted. She'd thought about a lot of things. She'd read the rules thoroughly and no where did it mention the festival. No where in the rules did it say explicitly that Blue students couldn't go. It didn't mention that Purples or Reds could go either, but she chose to ignore that. 

"Ooh, not a problem," Kitty said, jumping nimbly from the bed and shuffling quickly towards her closet. 

"I've got some clothes from before. Like, normal clothes. I brought them with me when I came, no one told me. Nevermind," she added quickly, seeing Jamie and Allison's befuddled looks. 

She pulled several clothes from their hangers, including a pair of skinny jeans, a skirt, several t-shirts, a dotted playsuit and even a leather jacket. Allison raised her eyebrows at the leather jacket. 

"I hadn't taken you for a leather kinda gal," she said, giggling. 

Kitty rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. "That was from before! Anyway, I have "normal" clothes. We can go undercover... like an adventure."

Both Jamie and Allison whooped in excitement and sat up a little straighter in their beds, eyes shining. Kitty grinned and lifted up a mini-skirt and t-shirt combo.

"It might be a bit short on you, Allie. And, I mean, they're all for girls, J," she said, apologetically. 

Jamie laughed. "I prefer my jeans skinny anyway. And Allie would rock anything. So... tomorrow night then?"

Kitty and Allison looked at each other and grinned.

"Tomorrow."


	4. Red Activists

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I just wanted to warn that this chapter does deal with abuse and assault, though you will be happy to hear that none of our "good" Reds are involved. It should all become clear fairly quickly, but I definitely wanted to add this as a trigger warning.
> 
> Also, we finally meet more of Cora! Yay! 
> 
> The next chapter will be a fairly long one, so it might take a little longer for me to get it up. As you can probably guess, the three subs are in quite a bit of hot water by the end. 
> 
> Please do comment on this so I know if the story is still of interest to people. Happy reading!

_Rule 2: Vista Creek students will abide by our nation's laws, as well as by the school rules - as outlined in §12._

Allison couldn’t believe how easy it had been. 

Campus had been teeming with students all day and even now, at past 8 pm, dozens of students sat outside in clusters, enjoying the lingering heat from the day, even though the sun had long set. Laughter rang out across the quad as the threesome picked up their pace and made for the far edge of campus, the area they’d determined was best hidden from prying eyes. The fence behind the dorms couldn’t be seen even from the windows, as it was tucked away in a blind spot and hidden behind several trees. 

Allison looked back at her companions, as if to make sure that they were definitely still up for this. After all, she was aware that they would all land into quite a lot of trouble. But when neither of her friends issued any concern, she shimmied carefully underneath the fence. Several students had, throughout the years, dug underneath it and pretty much all Blues knew of this secret escape. They’d somehow kept it from the dominant students (how, she had no idea), and so she was reasonably certain that they’d be able to slip back in through it when they’d had enough of the festival. 

“Alright, we’ll strip quickly and leave the uniform in the bushes; they'll be safe in these bags,” she said, pulling three clear plastic bags from her backpack. Kitty unearthed their non-uniform clothes from her own bag and passed them to each of her friends. They’d all seen each other naked now plenty of times. Although Allison had snuck into their shared bathroom in order to get undressed for bed in the beginning, after only a few days of witnessing Kitty’s casual ease with nudity (she had a habit of prancing about half-naked whenever she got distracted halfway through getting dressed), she’d started losing all sense of humility. It was nice, having the kind of closeness and ease with her roommates. She’d never had anything like it before, growing up as an only-child. Back at school she could have counted her friends on one hand, and even those had never felt like “true” ones. 

“Ooh, that’s cute, Kitty,” she gushed. Her pink-haired friend had changed into a dotted red playsuit. She’d paired it with a black leather jacket and loosened her hair, which she usually kept tucked into braids. Now it just brushed her shoulders.

Jamie was wearing jeans that were a tad too small for him. She was glad it was dark enough that she couldn’t quite see all of his assets through the fabric. But the bulge, even in the dim light, was almost impossible to miss. 

“Wow, Jamie,” Kitty said, a teasing note to her voice. He smacked her arm playfully. 

“Speaking of wow,” Jamie added, pointing towards Allison. “If I weren’t entirely gay…” 

“Thanks,” Allison said, her cheeks colouring slightly at the compliments. She’d opted for one of Kitty’s high-waisted shorts. They were the kind that exposed the bottom part of her butt cheeks. She’d picked a fairly nondescript t-shirt from the lot and then quickly realised that quite a lot of fabric was missing from the sides. 

“Nah, they’re meant to be cut-out like that,” Kitty had promised, when Allison pointed it out. “You should wear a cute bra underneath it, one of those lacy things. People are _meant_ to see it.”

So now Allison was feeling very aware of just how much of her skin was showing and just HOW very lacy her bra was. 

* * * 

They had underestimated just how far their trek through the dimly lit wooded area behind the college would be. It took them almost an hour of tripping and cursing, until they finally emerged by the quarry near the town centre. If they hadn’t had Kitty to navigate, Allison was sure that they would have gotten lost in the woods or walked in entirely the wrong direction. 

It was clear that the party had been going on for quite some time. The crowd of people was mixed, though still fairly young and after so many weeks spent in uniform, it felt entirely surreal to see people in “normal” clothes once again. She was suddenly frightened, realising how much more difficult it now became to identify someone’s colour. 

Broken glass littered the floor, amongst brightly coloured paper cups, filled with equally colourful liquid. There was a row of portable toilets at the edge of the quarry, where some people were queuing to relieve themselves. There were also a couple of stands selling food, but only a single bar that sold alcohol. 

“We should get a drink,” Jamie called out.

“What?” She couldn’t hear over the music. 

“A drink!” Jamie called out again, leaning closer towards her. She nodded, numbly and grabbed Kitty by the sleeve, as she was starting to wander off towards the floor of gyrating bodies. 

There were so many people that it was impossible to get over to the drinks stand without touching skin. She felt a hand slap her butt and when she looked around, wide-eyed, to locate the culprit, she realised it could have been any of the dozens of people surrounding them. 

She began to get a sickly kind of feeling of regret.  
That feeling was followed immediately by a fierce kind of stubbornness. No way was she going to let Sawyer’s words from the day before get to her. This was a festival, a silly music festival - it wasn’t dangerous just because she was a Blue. No way. They were adults and they were allowed to have fun.

They finally reached the counter, where they were each eyed up by a leather-clad man, who raised a single eyebrow in question. 

“Beer?” He asked them. Kitty shook her head.

“I want something… a little stronger?” She looked over at Allison, clearly asking for help.

Allison shrugged. She’d never had alcohol before.

The man at the bar was growing visibly suspicious and Allison could see his eyes moving down to their wrists, obviously searching for their mark. 

She deftly moved her wrist downward and out of sight and cleared her throat. 

“We’d like a vodka.” 

“A… vodka,” the man echoed. 

Jamie bit his lip and added a nervous “umm, with some orange squash.” 

Kitty pulled out a wad of cash, moving it onto the counter. The man chose to ignore their cluelessness, shook his head, and muttered something inaudible. Two minutes later, they each had a tall orange glass with some crushed ice. If they didn’t know any better, it could have just passed for generic orange juice. 

Jamie took a long sip and sputtered. Seeing his reaction, Allison decided to just take a more tentative drink. It was strong, but the orange taste diluted it enough for it to taste almost like normal squash. 

* * *

_Section 12(1) of the Blue Protection Act provides:_

_a) wilful abuse of a Blue will be hereby classed as a criminal offence._

_b) extreme cases of abuse are considered a capital offence, under the authority of the BPA._

_c) a dominant colour resorting to disproportionate violence (hereafter classed as 'abuse') against a submissive colour, is considered a "failed" dominant._

It was gone midnight, almost one in the morning, and Allison had looked away from her friends for just one moment. She wasn’t sure just how many glasses she was down. She’d moved on to something more exotic; a drink that included an umbrella and a piece of fruit. The leather-clad man at the bar had glared at her whilst shoving the piece of pineapple onto the corner of the glass. He seemed to be used to easier orders, mostly beer, sometimes individual small glasses of hard liquor. The fact that she kept coming back and asking for outlandish cocktails and sickly-sweet drinks seemed to bother him. 

But now she couldn’t find Kitty. Two minutes ago they’d been standing together, swaying along to a droning song and stumbling, laughing, into some random strangers. “Ooooh, sorryyyy,” Kitty had said, giggling. Then they’d had another one… or was it two… maybe three, drinks? And now, she couldn’t find her friend. 

“Have you seen my friend?” Allison asked one of the couples near her. Their eyes wandered down to her visible mark and one of them scoffed. She ignored them. “She’s got pink hair, about this short?” The couple shook their heads, so she turned towards another small throng of people.

Then another, then another. 

She was starting to panic when she spotted a pink flash on the very far side of the road, edging away from the main rush of people. She pushed through the mob and over to the pavement.

“Oh, thank goodness, I couldn’t find you anywhere!” She rushed towards her friends, who had turned just slightly into an alley. The reason for this became clear immediately. Kitty was vomiting up a colourful fountain of liquid. Jamie was standing, swaying a little and looking just slightly green in the face. 

“Maybe we should call it a night?” Jamie asked.

Kitty shook her head, but threw up onto the cobbled street again. Allison nodded. “Let me go and find you some water…” 

When she turned to leave the alleyway, she was surprised to find their way blocked by a small cluster of people. She blinked in surprise and backed up towards Jamie, who looked up and over from Kitty. 

“You’re not thinking of leaving already, are you, little Blues?” Asked one of the people.

They were three men, one woman, and Allison vaguely remembered having seen them in the mass of people at the main party. She was bad at guessing ages, but they were definitely older than any of the other students on campus. Perhaps in their thirties. They couldn’t have come from the college. 

“We’re not from your silly school,” one of the men said, an eyebrow raised. “They coddle Blues there, just like the rest of our sick society is beginning to.” He spat on the ground, just inches from Allison’s feet. Kitty had stopped throwing up and noticed the group of people. 

“Don’t think we didn’t notice the three of you in your little getup, the moment you appeared.” 

Another woman appeared, slinging an arm around the shoulder of the speaker and giggling. “OOHH little Blues. Can we play?” But she wasn’t smiling. None of them looked in the least bit friendly. 

“My friend is sick. We just want to go home now, okay?” Allison said, her voice unsure and shaking. 

“We can see that. Can’t hold her alcohol, that one. Why don’t you lick it up?” They erupted in more laughter and Allison felt Jamie reach out for her hand. His breath was fast and nervous and Kitty was swaying even more. Allison wasn’t even sure if Kitty was aware of any of this. Shit. She’d had too much. How many drinks had Kitty ordered? She couldn’t remember. 

“Oh, but you kids are all being told about your so-called ‘rights’ now. Blue protection laws, that kind of bullshit.” One member of the group laughed again, cold and without any trace of humour. 

“Your pink friend, Kitty, is it? Ask her about Josh. Go on, ask.” 

Kitty stopped swaying for a bit, her eyes widening slightly. Allison looked over at Jamie, her own eyes questioning, but he shrugged. They’d never heard of anyone called Josh. 

“Ah, but you remember, Kitty-Kat. I can see that you do. Josh. My brother. The one you reported? Executed last year. So you see, I’m no fan of privileged little Blues. And neither are my friends.” 

One of the women moved away from her friends, her kohl-lined eyes heavy with something Allison couldn’t place. She tried to back away some more, but the stronger woman grabbed her roughly and shoved her backwards against the wall. She ran her fingernails across skin, moving snakily towards her neck. Allison struggled, aiming a kick at her shin. The woman’s eyes glazed over in pain and surprise and she shoved Allison’s head back roughly and slapped her hard across the face. 

“Tsk. They don’t know their place.” 

Allison felt tears spring to her eyes, mostly from the sting of the slap and she searched for her friends. The group of assorted Reds circled in closer, effectively cutting them off from view. The music was too loud at the main stage, she realised with a jolt — no one would be able to hear them if they shouted for help. She heard Jamie give a shocked shout and then saw him pinned between two people. Kitty was offering no resistance. She seemed to have gone to some far-off place, her eyes having turned a shocking black. 

“My friend, she’s- she’s not well, please,” Allison tried pleading again. 

The man, who appeared to be the main speaker, moved over to Jamie. He’d pulled something sharp and glinting from his pocket. Jamie’s eyed widened when he realised that it was a blade from a knife. 

“Don’t worry. We will only hurt you a little bit. A bit of knife play, blood play? Don’t you subs get off on that?” 

“Y-you can’t,” Jamie said, his voice slightly muffled. Allison couldn’t see from her position, but it looked like someone had shoved some fabric against his lips. “It’s illegal. You have to -“ 

“What? Ask for consent? Beg for your agreement?” The man’s eyes narrowed further as he stroked Jamie’s hair. “No, you see, we don’t have to do anything.”

He pressed the shiny blade against Jamie’s cheek, just hard enough to draw a small line of blood.

Allison cried out in shock and horror, struggling violently against the arms pinning her against the wall. The woman slapped her again, once, then twice, shrill laughter punctuating each slap. 

There was a yelp, then another cry, and then silence.

“What. In the actual fuck. Is going on here?” That voice was different. 

It came from further up the alley, behind the small group of people, and they couldn’t tell who it belonged to. The voice was enough for Allison’s captor to release her. Allison stumbled backwards and over to Kitty’s side. “Kitty? Kitty, are you alright?” Her friend mumbled something unintelligible, but otherwise didn’t appear to register much. 

Allison was so focused on her roommate and friend that she didn’t even notice that the group of people had scattered.

“Fuck,” another voice joined the new one. “I think I saw where they went. Should I go hunt ‘em down, Cora? They can’t have gone very far.” 

Cora. 

Allison looked over her shoulder and registered, with a jolt of painful recognition, that the new group of people included Cora. Her Cora. 

But no - not _her_ Cora. 

“I want to kill those bastards, but this is more important.” Cora's voice was hard as steel, but then softened slightly when she looked over towards Allison and Kitty. “Are you alright, sweetpea?” Cora had walked up and over to them and settled down, gently, by Allison’s side. 

“Are you hurt?” 

Allison shook her head, words catching in her throat. 

“Fuck. This is bad. How much did she drink?” A young man appeared next to them. He had soft and kind eyes.

“I’m a medical student, is it alright if I touch you?” He asked. Kitty didn’t respond. He looked over towards Allison and she realised that he was looking for her assent. She nodded again, still unable to form words and he gently placed a hand on Kitty’s back, guiding her to a seated position. “Erin, could you grab us some water, please?” The blonde Allison knew as Erin nodded and ran off, her shoes making dull noises against the pavement.

“Where are your chaperones? I can’t believe they would leave you alone like this! I’ll be having words, that’s for sure,” Cora said, eyes glinting. Allison flushed and looked at the ground.

“Wait - what?” Cora looked over at her medical-student-companion and then towards Erin, who had appeared quickly with a bottle of water. 

“Cor,” Erin said, handing the bottle to the man who was focused on Kitty. “Cor, I don’t think they’re with anyone. Is that right?” Erin crouched down to look at Allison, who nodded dumbly. 

“Shit.” Cora looked at the three Blues in turn, seemingly too shocked to find any more nuanced words. 

“Wait a sec. Aren’t you Sawyer’s boy?” Now that Kitty seemed to be returning to normal, having had a drink of water, the man took in Jamie, recognition dawning on his face. 

“Yeah - I um - I’m Jamie,” he said. 

“Oh,” Erin said softly. She was rubbing gentle circles into Allison’s back, something she was only just beginning to register. Though she really wanted to hate the blonde girl for “stealing” Cora, she now found that the Purple was surprisingly nice and gentle. 

“What the hell is Sawyer thinking, letting him go to the festival alone like this?” Cora had turned steely once more, her words laced with fury. “That’s hugely irresponsible!”

“Cor…” Erin looked over at her girlfriend, her words soft enough to cool Cora down enough to listen. 

“What’s your name, love?” 

Allison blinked and swallowed. “Allison.” 

Erin smiled and nodded. “Allison, is Sawyer aware that you are here?” 

Allison bit down hard on her lip. “No! No, he - he um - he told us we couldn’t go, actually.” She blushed even harder, wanting nothing more than to disappear right into the ground. 

“Right, I see,” Erin nodded and looked over at Cora. 

“So… let me get this right,” Cora said, the smile having disappeared completely from her face. Allison inched backwards, but Erin squeezed her shoulder in a reassuring way. 

“The three of you snuck off campus, without uniform, despite Sawyer telling you not to. And you’ve also had alcohol. Quite a few glasses, judging by your friend here. Have I missed anything? Erin? Seth?” Her companions shook their heads. 

Allison opened her mouth to defend herself, feeling suddenly very responsible. “Never mind, we’ll figure that out. First, let’s get back to campus, make sure no one’s injured.” Cora walked over and whisked Allison up and into her arms easily. She wanted to protest but a sharp look from the taller girl made her fall quiet again. Erin had her arm around Jamie, whose shoulders were shaking softly. He was crying. Allison felt another sharp burst of guilt. Seth, the medical-friend, hadn’t taken his eyes off of Kitty the entire time. He picked her up easily, and the tiny-framed girl put her head on his shoulder, seemingly falling asleep right there. 

* * * 

_Rule 12: "Failed" dominants will be removed from campus and reported to the authorities. No exceptions._

Allison had never seen Sawyer stressed before. But the moment they entered the common room, it was clear that hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. His normally tidy hair was dishevelled and he was half dressed in normal uniform and half in his pyjamas, as if someone had called ahead. The second the door closed behind them, he was by Jamie’s side, touching him gently all over, assessing for injuries. 

“Saw-Sawyer, I’m fine,” Jamie protested, trying in vain to wrench free. 

Sawyer ignored him, his eyes flashing with something menacing when he detected the small cut by his cheek. 

He reached out and growled when Jamie pulled away.

“Look at me,” he ordered. When Jamie did, he reached over and pulled him closer, running his hands carefully over his arms and shoulder, eyes narrowing whenever he came across a cut or a bruise, from where he had been manhandled.

“Did they do this?” He asked, his voice strained, like he was trying hard to control himself. “Who were they? Cora, did you get any names - any faces?”

Allison sat down on the oversized sofa, beside Erin and Seth, feeling defeated. Seth still had a sound asleep Kitty in his arms. 

Cora shook her head, looking every bit as exhausted as Allison felt.  
“Sawyer, he’s fine. We got involved before they could do anything more serious.”

“He won’t be fine for much longer, that much is for sure,” Sawyer muttered, his voice low. 

“Sawyer, come on,” Erin protested weakly. Cora shook her head once, effectively hushing her girlfriend. She put a gently guiding hand on Sawyer’s back. 

“Let’s just… let’s hear them out first. I’ll give you the run down of what we saw when we found them.” 

Sawyer nodded and walked over to the seating area, indicating with a pointed finger where Jamie should sit. Allison’s roommate sat down gingerly, looking close to tears. 

Cora sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and locking eyes with Allison. “We were lucky we found them when we did. Erin spotted something she felt was off. When we found them, they were surrounded by a group of Red Activists,” she explained. Sawyer took in a sudden, quick breath of horror and Seth was shaking his head, still in shock over what could have occurred if they’d been even a few minutes too late. 

“Wait - I don’t - who are Red Activists?” Allison asked tentatively. Sawyer pinched his forehead with one hand, something she’d noticed him do when he seemed particularly worried. 

“No one knows who their members are, exactly. It’s a growing fringe group of angry Reds. I think they first appeared around twenty years ago, when the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Blues was founded - the SPCB. None of us are old enough to remember it well, but prior to our modern regulations, there were no laws in place to protect Blues from violence,” Sawyer explained. 

Allison looked over to Jamie, who was nodding solemnly. How had she never heard of any of this before? She felt incredibly stupid for not knowing such basic history. 

Cora had been nodding throughout Sawyer’s explanation. When he fell silent, she once again took up the word. “Sawyer’s right. Some people believed that Blues could not properly register any pain and it was within the rights of the more dominant colours to hurt, rather than punish, for transgressions. It’s quite a complicated issue. When the so-called ‘Blue Laws’ came into place, there were suddenly harsh consequences for injuring or abusing Blue or Purple citizens. Previously the only way a Red could be tried in court was for abuse that led to death of a Blue - but even that was hard to get past an all-Red jury. So, you see, the whole thing was a shock. There was some rioting, but ultimately, most people accepted and even welcomed the change. Festivals like this have been growing huge numbers of Red Activist supporters, unfortunately.”

Allison nodded. “That explains something one of the guys said. I didn’t understand it at the time, but he said that his brother was executed a year ago. And something about Kitty…” she trailed off, looking over at the peacefully sleeping girl. “He was so angry.”

“Why do they want to hurt us? Why do they hate us so much?” Jamie asked, tears spilling from his eyes. Sawyer moved soundlessly over to his boyfriend and gathered him in his arms. 

“Because they’re sick in the mind - they have no idea what being a dominant is,” he said. 

Cora nodded from where she was stood. “A Red should never abuse their power.” 

“We’ll worry about those assholes later. Don’t worry, they will pay,” Seth said, teeth clenched in silent fury. All three dominants nodded in agreement. 

“But… first… we’ll need to discuss how to deal with these two,” Cora said, indicating with a nod towards Kitty and Allison. 

“I assume that you will be dealing with Jamie yourself?” 

Sawyer nodded, his jaw set and Jamie inched backwards in the sofa. “Mhm. I will. But perhaps we should discuss their actions together. And when they have sobered up properly,” Sawyer suggested.

Ah. Shit. He knew about the alcohol too. 

“I agree,” Cora said with a nod. “After all, they broke the rules as a group and should face the consequences as one too.” 

“That’s not fair,” Allison said, shaking off Erin’s hand and getting to her feet. 

Cora raised a single eyebrow. “Oh? Well then, Miss, have the floor and explain how it’s unfair.”

Allison, who had expected to be told to sit back down and shut up, had even expected a smack, was surprised. She gaped, struggling to think of why it was unfair. The truth was, it wasn’t unfair, not really. But she really, really did not want to be punished. 

“Because… because…”

“I see your point,” Cora said with a smirk. Allison flushed, feeling suddenly angry.

“It’s not fair because you guys are punishing us for almost getting assaulted!” It was a cheap shot, but she was out of options. 

The smile slipped off of Cora’s face and even Erin looked suddenly very serious. The Purple had been smiling encouragingly the entire time. Now she was shaking her head slowly. 

“Let me make this very clear to you right now, right here. No - don’t interrupt me. I gave you the floor, now it’s my turn to speak. I do not want you to think, not for a minute, that you will be punished for something that is not your fault. And the way those despicable Reds treated you, that was not your fault. Am I understood?” Allison nodded quickly, already regretting having spoken up in the first place. 

“But tonight you recklessly endangered your life and your friends lives by disregarding rules that had been set in place to protect you. Is that right? Was Sawyer unclear about prohibiting you from going to the festival?” Allison shook her head, feeling miserable, so Cora continued.

“Were you told that the festival was dangerous? Yes? Were you told about the need for a chaperone? Did you decide to abandon your uniform deliberately in order to mask your colour because you knew perfectly well that you were not allowed to go?” 

Both Allison and Jamie nodded again, shamefaced and fighting back tears. “Right. And that’s not even addressing the breaking of curfew, sneaking out after hours, drinking alcohol to excess. None of you even had more than beer or wine before. You could have gotten alcohol poisoning. Kitty was very, very close.” 

Tears were now rolling down Allison’s face, at the thought of what almost happened to her friend. 

“It’s too late, and you have each had too much to drink, for us to deal with any of you right now. Sawyer, with your permission, I propose that the three of you go back to your dorm and sleep. Tomorrow you are not to leave your room - you’re all grounded. We’ll have meals sent to you.” 

Jamie and Allison gasped. They would have to wait all day in order to be relieved from their guilt?

“Tomorrow evening, at 6 pm sharp, we will discuss this further. Would you be happy for us to use your room for this, Sawyer?” Cora soldiered on, ignoring the horrified expression’s on their faces.

“Of course. That all sounds very reasonable. Thank you, Cora,” Sawyer agreed.


End file.
